A big 5th inning powered the Portage Padres to a 7-1 victory over Carberry in their opening game of the Santa Clara Baseball League Playoffs.

Carberry got out to a 1-0 lead early in the game, and tight defensive play from both teams kept it close into the 5th. The Padres' bats managed to turn things around in the bottom of the inning, mounting 7 runs to take a 6 run lead. Padres' Daylan Laramee and Derek Boehm (BOME) each had 2 RBI doubles and scored in the 5th. Boehm says it wasn't their best day at the plate, but still managed the win.

"I thought we played great defensively. Our pitching was good, and it was just a tight game all around, and our bats -- unfortunately -- didn't come alive until the bottom of the 5th, but they came when it mattered."

Portage Pitcher Jason Kirkland threw for 5, while Dustin Donald closed out the final two. Padres' Rod McLeod was pleased with their defensive performance.

Kirkland

"There was maybe 1 error we had in the second inning, other than that we played really sound defensively. Rob and I had 2 double plays up the middle, both sides, so that was nice to see. Catching the ball, making the outs at first, and making it look as easy as we can out there is what propelled us to victory."

Portage managed to avoid a single inning collapse, something they'd struggled with over the season. Boehm says it comes down to making the right adjustments, at the right time.

"Not that we expected it, but we were ready for it. We made a quick pitching change which I think was very beneficial in the end, they started getting on our pitcher Jason Kirkland so we switched him out, and it worked for us very good."

The Minnedosa Mavericks were also winners Monday. They beat Austin in their series opener 8-5. The Padres and Mavericks each hold 1-0 leads in their best of 3 series.

The Santa Clara Baseball League Playoffs continue Tuesday with Plumas hosting Dauphin. The Pirates finished in 3rd place with an 8-5-1 record, and they'll host 2 games if necessary. The Brewers had a lot of trouble getting all their players out to games this season -- and unfortunately -- it showed in the standings as they finished 7th with only 4 wins.

Game 1 of that series goes at 7 p.m.